Railway car roll stabilization

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to the stabilization of the roll of railroad cars. In a first embodiment, a plurality of railroad cars are stabilized by using the energy built up in one car to cancel the energy built up in adjacent cars. In a second embodiment, a railroad car is stabilized by providing means for changing the resonant frequency of the car if the roll angle experienced by said car exceeds a predetermined value. The third embodiment of the present invention provides for the stabilization of a railway car by limiting the maximum angle at which the car may roll. In a fourth embodiment, the tracks on which a railway car travels are altered in order that the wheels of the car encounter discontinuities at a rate wherein the possibility of the car rolling at resonance is eliminated. The fifth embodiment of the present invention employs a vibration absorber which oscillates itself, thereby absorbing energy which would have been absorbed by the car.

[ 51 Jan.23, 1973 I RAILWAY CAR ROLL STABILIZATION Frans V. A. Pangalila, Matawan Township, NJ.

[73] Assignee: John J. McMullen Associates, Inc.,

New York, N.Y.

[22] Filed: Oct. 7, 1969 [21] Appl. No.: 864,967

[75] Inventor:

[52] U.S. C1 ..105/1 A, 105/3, 105/164, 105/199 A, 105/199 R, 105/199 CB,

[51] Int. Cl. ..B61t' 5/06, B61f5/14, Fl6c 17/04 [58] Field of Search ..105/1, 3, 4,199,164, 392.5, 105/199 R, 1 A, 199 A, 199 CB, 199 R, 210;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 510,391 12/1893 Travis 1 ..238/142 630,358 8/1899 King ...308/138 1,011,811 12/1911 Kline 238/142 2,196,257 4/1940 Dubilier..... 238/122 X 383,067 5/1888 Pullman ..105/3 1,800,453 4/1931 Kirkbride ..238/151 X 2,018,870 10/1935 Paton 1 l ..296/1 2,887,071 5/1959 Settles.... .105/392.5 3,043,241 7/1962 Ortner ..105/199 3,244,462 4/1966 Barber et a1. ..105/199 X 3,295,463 1/1967 Barber ..105/199 3,351,336 11/1967 Blake ..267/3 3,406,641 10/1968 Williams ..105/199 3,438,648 4/1969 Tolley ..280/150 Primary ExaminerGerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner-Howard Beltran AttorneyFleit, Gipple & Jacobson [57] ABSTRACT The present invention relates to the stabilization of the roll of railroad cars. In a first embodiment, a plurality of railroad cars are stabilized by using the energy built up in one car to cancel the energy built up in adjacent cars. In a second embodiment, a railroad car is stabilized by providing means for changing the resonant frequency of the car if the roll angle experienced by said car exceeds a predetermined value. The third embodiment of the present invention provides for the stabilization of a railway car by limiting the maximum angle at which the car may roll. In a fourth embodiment, the tracks on which a railway car travels are al tered in order that the wheels of the car encounter discontinuities at a rate wherein the possibility of the car rolling at resonance is eliminated. The fifth embodiment of the present invention employs a vibration absorber which oscillates itself, thereby absorbing energy which would have been absorbed by the car.

8 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAH 2 3 I975 SHEET 1 BF 4 wgaw n In

INVENTOR FRANS V. A. PANGALILA ATTORNEYS PATENTEUJANZB I973 3,712,243

sum u [If 4 INVENTOR FRANS V. A. PANGALILA WWm-ZM I ATTORNEYS RAILWAY CAR ROLL STABILIZATION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Railway cars often experience conditions which cause roll angles up to approximately or When this occurs in passenger cars, naturally, a discomfort is experienced by the passengers. When this is experienced in freight cars, the freight is liable to become damaged. In any event, with roll angles of such magnitudes, the danger exists that the car, or cars, may derail. In fact, it has been shown under test conditions that alternate wheels on the trucks of a railway car become disengaged from the track while the car rolls under severe roll conditions.

It has been found that roll in railway cars is caused by numerous factors. First, joints in the tracks may be staggered in such a way that a given car travelling'at a particular speed may reach its resonant frequency and thus may experience a severe roll buildup. In addition, it is not realistically possible to lay track so that it is perfectly horizontal, perfectly straight, and so that its track pairs are perfectly parallel. These inaccuracies, found in practice, may cause excessive roll in cars travelling over the trackat a given speed.

Above, it has been stated that railway cars often experience severe roll conditions. Dangers therefore exist if this condition is left uncorrected. Accordingly, the present invention is directed toward the elimination of severe roll in railway cars.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention deals with the elimination of severe roll in railway cars.

It has been found that adjacent cars roll out of phase. Thus, when one car is rolling in a first sense, the adjacent cars are rolling in an opposite sense. The first embodiment of the present invention makes use of the out of phase relationship between adjacent cars to cancel the roll along the length of a railroad train. More particularly, adjacent cars are coupled near the tops thereof, so that the energy from one car is passed to the next and so that the resultant effect is that the train experiences a minimum of roll.

As is well known, the trucks of a railway car are fitted with linear springs. Thus, when the trucks experience discontinuities in the tracks, they attempt to roll at their resonant frequencies. Also well known is that a railway car is loosely coupled to the trucks which support it. Therefore, the car also attempts to roll, and attempts to roll at its resonant frequency. In the second embodiment of the present invention, a railway car is allowed to freelyroll up to a predetermined roll angle. Then, when the car attempts to increase the amplitude of its roll angle, due to the resonance phenomenon, the car encounters resilient means which nonlinearly change the resonant frequency of the system to far above that frequency at which the car is presently attempting to roll.

In a third embodiment of the present invention, a railway car is prevented from rolling beyond a maximum and predetermined roll angle. This is accomplished by providing a railway car with motion-limiting devices which come into play when the roll angle of the car reaches a predetermined amplitude, thereby preventing the car from exceeding that value of roll angle.

As noted above, each railway car has a predetermined frequency of resonance. If the car travels at a speed and encounters discontinuities which present themselves in a proper timing sequence, then the car will tend to resonate. When this occurs, the roll angle rapidly increases from a small angle up to, as noted above, 10 to 15. In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, discontinuities are intentionally added to a track system to prevent the additive effects of speed and discontinuities. In this manner, there is no danger, at any speed of a train, that the discontinuities will cause the individual cars to resonate and thus roll at large angles.

It was noted above that the realistic track has discontinuities. The track discontinuities act as an input to the individual supporting trucks. The output is that the trucks roll. The trucks, on the other hand, act as an input to the car. In response to the input from the trucks, the car rolls. The fifth embodiment of the present invention makes use of the principle that when a mass is fitted in a railway car, which mass is consistently in a position to oppose and cancel the input from the individual trucks, then the car will not roll. More particularly, in the fifth embodiment of the present invention a railway car is provided with a mass which moves 90 out of phase with the car. Since there is naturally a 90 phase difference between the trucks and the car, the movement of the weight and the roll of the trucks take place I-out of phase. As a consequence, a cancellation results and the roll of a railway car is eliminated or at least is substantially reduced.

Accordingly, it is the main object of the present invention to provide means for reducing the roll in railway cars.

It is a further object of the present invention to reduce roll in railway cars by means which are simple in design and are economical in cost.

These and other objects of the invention, as well as many of the attendant advantages thereof, will become more readily apparent when reference is made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of a pair of adjacent railway cars, including the coupling arrangement forming the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a railway car equipped with damping means constructed in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. Sis a side view of a railway car equipped with a stabilizer constructed in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top elevation of a typical track structure known to the prior art;

FIG. 8 is a top elevation of a track structure constructed in accordance with the fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 depicts one configuration of a moving weight stabilizer constructed in accordance with the fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. It) depicts another configuration of a moving weight stabilizer;

FIG. 11 depicts still a further configuration of a moving weight stabilizer; and

FIG. 12 depicts yet a further moving weight stabilizer constructed in accordance with the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the first embodiment of the invention will be described. In these Figures, a pair of railway cars and 12, respectively, are shown coupled together with a conventional coupler l4. Coupler 14 is not shown in FIG. 2 for reasons of simplicity.

Loosely coupling cars 10 and 12, is a second coupler shown generally at 16 fitted at the upper region of the cars. Coupler 16 comprises a C-shaped groove 18 rigidly secured to car 10 and a tongue 20 rigidly secured to car 12. As best seen in FIG. 2, the tongue 20 is loosely held within the arms of the groove 18. In this manner, cars 10 and 12 may be coupled and uncoupled as is customary without concern for the additional inventive coupler 16.

As seen in FIG. 2, there is a space provided between the arms of the groove 18 and the tongue 20. In this manner, cars 10 and 12 may comfortably encounter curves without excessively stressing the coupler 16.

The operation of the inventive coupler forming the first embodiment of the present invention is as follows. As noted previously, adjacent cars naturally roll out of phase. Thus, for example, when car 10 attempts to roll about its roll axis in a clockwise direction, car 12 rolls in a counterclockwise direction. When, however, the above-described inventive coupler is fitted, the clockwise force exerted by the car 10 is counteracted by the counterclockwise force exerted by the car 12, the coupler l6 absorbing these energies and serving as an adder to cancel the potential effects of same. In this manner, while adjacent cars attempt to roll, their attempts, opposite in direction, are added together so that neither car rolls.

With reference now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. A typical railway car is shown generally at 28. One of its trucks is indicated generally at 30 and is attached, in a customary manner, by means of a coupling pin 32. The truck bolster is indicated by the reference numeral 34.

As is customary, the bolster is spring mounted with respect to the wheel axles through housing 138 and springs 140. A pair of limiting springs 36 and 38 is provided on the housing 138 on opposite sides of the pin' 32, the springs 36 and 38 being mounted on the housing by means of respective mounting members 40 and 42. On the end of the spring 36, adjacent the car 28, is a pad 44, and similarly, on the end of the spring 38, adjacent the car 28, is a pad 46. Each car is provided with at least two spring assemblies, but, preferably, each is provided with four. One pair of spring assemblies is preferably fitted on the forward housings and one pair is preferably fitted on the rear housings. In this manner, forces are uniformly distributed. If the bearings are not of sufficient strength, the limiting springs may be nonrotatably mounted on the axles joining the wheel sets.

As stated previously, the car attempts to roll about its associated trucks at a given natural frequency. As also noted previously, if the conditions of track and car are proper, the car will reach resonance and will,,therefore, experience large angles of roll. Limiting springs 36 and 38 are fitted to prevent the occurrence of these large roll angles.

The pads 44 and 46, mounted on respective springs 36 and 38, are spaced from the bottom of the car 28a distance comparable to, for example, a 2 roll. More particular, the car 28is free to roll unaffected by the springs 36 and 38 until the car reaches a roll amplitude of 2. Then, the bottom of the car 28 alternately encounters respective pads 44 and 46. Therefore, when the roll exceeds the 2 amplitude limit, the resonant frequency of the car 28 is changed due to the actions of the springs 36 and 38. If the new" natural frequency of the car 28 is far removed from the natural frequency of the car when unaffected by the springs 36 and 38, then the car will not roll severely.

The reason for the spaces between the respective pads 44 and 46 and the car 28 is as follows. When the car 28 accelerates from a stop, it is unaffected by springs 36 and 38. When, however, it approaches its resonant frequency, it begins to roll at an ever-increasing roll angle. This occurs, in some cars, at approxiniately 15 miles per hour. At this speed, the car rolls until it encounters the pads 44 and 46. Then, the resonant frequency of the system sharply increases. Since, however, the conditions are such to cause the car 28 to resonate at its first resonant frequency, the car, with its new resonant frequency, tends to stabilize. Then, after the car exceeds the critical speed, its roll is naturally reduced and the car is, again, unaffected by the springs 36 and 38. 7

With reference now to FIGS. 5 and 6, the third embodiment of the present invention will be explained. A typical car is shown at 48 and is equipped with a pair of trucks 50 and 52, respectively, the trucks 50 and 52 serving, in a conventional manner, to support the car 48 and to cushion the ride of the car along tracks 54.

The car 48 is further equipped with at least one pair of stabilizer devices 56. Preferably, two pairs are provided, similar to the arrangement described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In FIGS. 5 and 6, a stabilizer device is shown mounted on each housing 58, as-

sociated with a given truck 50 or 52. Each device 56' comprises a rigid post 59 and a resilient pad 60, for example, of rubber, rotatably mounted on its associated post. Under static conditions, each pad 60 is spaced from the bottom of the car 48.

In operation, the car 48 rolls, in a conventional manner, atop its trucks 50 and 52. When, however, the conditions are such so as to cause large angles of roll in the car 48, the stabilizing devices 56 take over. More particularly, when the car 48 rolls at an angle of, for example, 2, the pads 60 of the respective stabilizing devices 56 alternately contact the bottom of the car 48. In this manner, the car 48 cannot roll past a predetermined maximum roll angle. Similar to the second embodiment of the present invention, in this embodiment, the stabilizing devices take over only when the conditions are such so as to cause the car to roll at its resonant frequency. When the car moves slowly, no roll,

problems exist, and when the speed of the car increases past the critical speed, the roll of the car is not severe. Under both of these non-roll conditions, the stabiiizers 56 remain spaced from the car 48 and do not affect the operation of the car. Only at resonance do they come into play.

In FIG. 7, a conventional section of track is shown. In FIG. 8, a similar section of track is shown, but the track being adapted in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

As stated previously, discontinuities in the track cause excessively large angles of roll in a railway car if the remaining conditions are proper. For example, if the spacing between trucks on a car is substantially equal to the spacing between joints in respective track sections, and if the joints in the track sections are staggered as is the custom, then there will be a speed when the railway car will reach its resonance and will tend to experience large roll angles.

In FIG. 7, two segments of track are shown. The first segment comprises sections 62, 64 and 66, and the second segment comprises sections 68, 70 and 72. Sections 62 and 64 are separated by a joint 74, sections 64 and 66 are separated by a joint 76, sections 68 and 70 are separated by a joint 78, and sections 70 and 72 are separated by a joint 80. As noted previously, the joints 74, 78, 76 and 80 are staggered. This is the custom, and often causes cars to roll severely.

With reference now to FIG. 8, a pair of track segments, similar to those shown in FIG. 7, are illustrated. Corresponding track sections and joints are represented by numerals similar to those shown in FIG. 7, but with the addition of a prime. The track segments shown in FIG. 8 are further provided with false joints 82, 84, 86 and 88. These false joints may take the form of shallow cuts provided in the track.

The false joints are provided so that the wheels of a car are affected asthey would be if the joints were more numerous than they actually are. To resonate, therefore, the car is required to be moving faster. Since it is not, the roll angle is reduced.

By constructing a track such as that illustrated in FIG. 8, the composite" conditions may be sufficiently disturbed so that the train never rolls through its critical speed. More particularly, by adding false joints to standard track, the conditions may be changed to the extent that a train may resonate at, for example, 60 miles per hour rather than miles per hour. Naturally, the false joints would be provided only in the areas where the train moves near, for example, 15 miles per hour. These areas would be near regions of congestion and near stations when the train is either accelerating from a standstill or decelerating to a standstill.

In FIGS. 9 through 12, the fifth embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The principle of this embodiment may be thought of as a vibration-absorber principle. That is, a small mass absorbs energies of motion which otherwise would grow into the creation of motions in a large mass.

Relating this principle to the railroad train, and, in particular, to FIG. 9, a small mass 90 absorbs energy from the trucks 92 associated with a railway car 94. In this manner, the track discontinuities do not cause the car 94 to roll but, rather, cause motion in the mass 90. The mass 90 is shown to slide on a platform 96 and is connected to the respective sides of the car 94 by means of a pair of springs 98 and 100.

The fifth embodiment of the present invention functions as follows. The discontinuities in the track cause motions in the trucks 92. These motions in the trucks cause the car 94 to roll out of phase with the motions of the trucks. Similarly, the motion of the car 94 causes the weight 90 to move 90 out of phase with the roll of the car. Thus, the weight 90 moves 180 out of phase with respect to the trucks 92. In this manner, the effect of the weight 90 adds to the effect of the trucks 92, thereby causing a cancellation and reduction of the roll in the railway car.

In FIG. 10, a second-form of the fifth embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. In this Figure, the railway car 102 is equipped with a pair of masses 104 and 106. Mass 104 is suspended from the top of the car 102 by means of a spring 108, and mass 106 is supported by a similar spring 110.

The operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 is as follows. When the car 102 rolls about its roll axis, shown at 112, weights 104 and 106 oscillate on their respective springs 108 and 110. If the springs are properly designed, the positions of the respective weights will be 90 out of phase with the roll of the car 102. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, when the car is rolling in the direction indicated by arrow 114, the weight 104 is beginning its downward movement and the weight 106 is beginning its upward movement. In view of the relative positions of these weights, the car is stabilized. More particularly, weight 104 acts through a distance (1,, with respect to the center of roll 112, and the weight 106 acts through a distance d In this manner, weight 104 exerts a force which tends to rotate the car 102 in a counterclockwise direction about its center of rotation 112. Therefore, the weight 104 counteracts the roll of the car. This is similar to the action of the weight 90, described above with reference to FIG. 9.

A third alternate to the fifth embodiment of the present invention is depicted in FIG. 11. In this Figure, a railway car 116 is provided with a pendulum-type weight 118 pivotally mounted on the top of the car 116 by means of an arm 120 pivoted at 121. A pair of springs 122 and 124 connect the arm 120 to respective sides of the car 116.

The operation of this configuration is similar to the operation described above with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. The weight 118 moves so that it is 90 out of phase with the roll of the car and therefore serves to counteract the roll moment. The distance 11" may be varied, or the spring constant may be varied, to change the period of the pendulum defined by weight 118 and arm 120.

Referring now to FIG. 12, there is shown an alternate of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 11. In FIG. 12, a car 126 is provided with a weight 128 mounted, by means of an arm 130, on a wheel 132. The wheel 132 is free to roll along a platform 134.

In operation, as the car rolls about its roll axis, the weight 128 serves as a pendulum, rotating about its pivot point 136 in the line of the axle of the wheel 132. Simultaneous with the rotation of the pendulum, the wheel 132' rolls from side to side of the car along the platform 134. If properly designed, the position of the weight 128 remains 90 out of phase with the roll of the car. In this manner, the roll is damped.

Above, there have been described several embodiments of the present invention, each of these embodiments being directed toward the elimination or reduction of excessive roll in railway cars. It should be understood, however, that the specific embodiments were described for illustrative purposes only. Many alterations and modifications may thus be practiced by those skilled inn the art without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is 1. An apparatus for reducing the roll in adjacent railway cars which are connected together in a conventional manner, the apparatus comprising: first energy accepting means rigidly mounted on a wall of a first railway car, and second energy accepting means rigidly mounted on a wall ofa second railway car, the first and second energy accepting means being mounted on adjacent walls of the first and second railway cars and being mounted in a manner to intermittently communicate with one another and to intermittently receive energy from one another during the travel of said adjacent railway cars, thereby bringing about a cancellation of energy imparted by said first and said second railway cars.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said first and said second energy accepting means communicate with one another in such a manner as to allow the adjacent railway cars to comfortably travel around curves without unduly stressing said energy accepting means.

3. The apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein said energy accepting means are mounted remote from the axis about which each railway car rolls.

4. The apparatus as described in claim 3, wherein said first and said second energy accepting means are mounted near the tops of their respective cars.

5. The apparatus of claim l,wherein said first energy accepting means is in the form of a U-shaped groove, wherein said second energy accepting means is in the form of a tongue, and wherein the first and second energy accepting means are aligned so that the tongue, under normal operating conditions, is positioned in the respective arms of said groove.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein a tolerance is provided between said groove and said ton gue to allow for the adjacent railway cars to comfortably travel around curves.

7. in combination with a railway car, an apparatus for reducing roll in said car, the combination comprising: a railway car; truck means for supporting said railway car on associated tracks and for guiding said car along said tracks; and means mounted within said car for counteracting and substantially balancing the forces exerted by said truck means on said car; wherein said means for balancing forces comprises at least one movable weight, the weight moving with respect to the center of roll of said railway car and moving in such a manner that the position of the weight is maintained out of phase with the roll of said car; and wherein said movable weight is in the formof a pendulum adapted to sway about a pivot point in a plane transverse to the direction of travel of said railway car, and further comprising means for mounting the pivot point of said pendulum on a mount capable of moving horizontally in a direction transverse to the direction of travel of said railway car.

8. The combination as recited in claim 7, and further comprising means for maintaining the 90 phase relationship between the position of said at least one movable weight and the roll of said car.

a: a: Ir a 

1. An apparatus for reducing the roll in adjacent railway cars which are connected together in a conventional manner, the apparatus comprising: first energy accepting means rigidly mounted on a wall of a first railway car, and second energy accepting means rigidly mounted on a wall of a second railway car, the first and second energy accepting means being mounted on adjacent walls of the first and second railway cars and being mounted in a manner to intermittently communicate with one another and to intermittently receive energy from one another during the travel of said adjacent railway cars, thereby bringing about a cancellation of energy imparted by said first and said second railway cars.
 2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said first and said second energy accepting means communicate with one another in such a manner as to allow the adjacent railway cars to comfortably travel around curves without unduly stressing said energy accepting means.
 3. The apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein said energy accepting means are mounted remote from the axis about which each railway car Rolls.
 4. The apparatus as described in claim 3, wherein said first and said second energy accepting means are mounted near the tops of their respective cars.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first energy accepting means is in the form of a U-shaped groove, wherein said second energy accepting means is in the form of a tongue, and wherein the first and second energy accepting means are aligned so that the tongue, under normal operating conditions, is positioned in the respective arms of said groove.
 6. The apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein a tolerance is provided between said groove and said tongue to allow for the adjacent railway cars to comfortably travel around curves.
 7. In combination with a railway car, an apparatus for reducing roll in said car, the combination comprising: a railway car; truck means for supporting said railway car on associated tracks and for guiding said car along said tracks; and means mounted within said car for counteracting and substantially balancing the forces exerted by said truck means on said car; wherein said means for balancing forces comprises at least one movable weight, the weight moving with respect to the center of roll of said railway car and moving in such a manner that the position of the weight is maintained 90* out of phase with the roll of said car; and wherein said movable weight is in the form of a pendulum adapted to sway about a pivot point in a plane transverse to the direction of travel of said railway car, and further comprising means for mounting the pivot point of said pendulum on a mount capable of moving horizontally in a direction transverse to the direction of travel of said railway car.
 8. The combination as recited in claim 7, and further comprising means for maintaining the 90* phase relationship between the position of said at least one movable weight and the roll of said car. 